I'd be worrying about getting us hoverboards before looking for some non-existent Alien Earth.

Yeah, hoverboards are cool, but I want me a fusion powered flying time machine dammit! Or at the very least a fusion powered flying car. And dot matrix printers installed into the wall of every room of my house, even the closets! And self tying shoes, and self fitting self drying jackets.

I'd be worrying about getting us hoverboards before looking for some non-existent Alien Earth.

Yeah, hoverboards are cool, but I want me a fusion powered flying time machine dammit! Or at the very least a fusion powered flying car. And dot matrix printers installed into the wall of every room of my house, even the closets! And self tying shoes, and self fitting self drying jackets.

USCLaw2010:How do you divy up the land on a new planet? We just going to homestead that biatch? Or have Monsanto and the Koch brothers already acquired all of the futures in alien real estate?

Well I would think it would depend on the people involved with colonizing it really. I would assume a group of colonists on such a mission would want to group up somewhat and not spread out all over the place, or at the very least a few different groups. I'd imagine someone would be in charge of each group and say "Ok, everyone pick a spot no further than x away from this landmark and allot y square meters or feet for your plot and mark it. First one to a site claims it, any disputes will be handled with me privately. We'll do meetings every so often to determine resource and labor distribution. Ready? Break!"

Dingleberry Dickwad:USCLaw2010: How do you divy up the land on a new planet? We just going to homestead that biatch? Or have Monsanto and the Koch brothers already acquired all of the futures in alien real estate?

Well I would think it would depend on the people involved with colonizing it really. I would assume a group of colonists on such a mission would want to group up somewhat and not spread out all over the place, or at the very least a few different groups. I'd imagine someone would be in charge of each group and say "Ok, everyone pick a spot no further than x away from this landmark and allot y square meters or feet for your plot and mark it. First one to a site claims it, any disputes will be handled with me privately. We'll do meetings every so often to determine resource and labor distribution. Ready? Break!"

Well I know the 1862 Homestead Act required you to prove you made improvements to the land you were claiming and you also had to reside there for a minimum of 5 years.

Holocaust Agnostic:All those people you share the roads with. You want them flinging several thousand pounds of steel around in 3 dimensions instead?

Seriously. Fully autonomous cars seems like a much more reasonable first step. Once we have the automated systems 100% effective, then flying cars might be a possibility, but not with the average driver in control.

Holocaust Agnostic:All those people you share the roads with. You want them flinging several thousand pounds of steel around in 3 dimensions instead?

I don't want them driving on the roads either, but we've got that now. We need autonomous cars absolutely as soon as possible. Once we get that, then yes, I'd like to have autonomous cars that fly as well.

Self-driving cars will save many, many lives. How nice will it be to get as drunk as you want, then climb in your car and tell it to take you home? Once we get to that point adding the extra dimension is just fine with me.

So you think you can relieve population pressures by colonizing another planet? You do realize that there are 200,000+ additional people born on the planet every day? That would mean that in order to reduce the population that you would have to have 200,000+ +1 people leave the Earth every day for this new planet.

So it's either colonize another planet or a bit of family planning and birth control.

mrlewish:So you think you can relieve population pressures by colonizing another planet? You do realize that there are 200,000+ additional people born on the planet every day? That would mean that in order to reduce the population that you would have to have 200,000+ +1 people leave the Earth every day for this new planet.

So it's either colonize another planet or a bit of family planning and birth control.

Don't worry, there'll likely be a conflict soon that'll take care of the population. Or a disease. Either way, populations have a way of keeping a balance. You'd better hope we build spaceships. I doubt the alternative will be any fun.

mongbiohazard:Holocaust Agnostic: All those people you share the roads with. You want them flinging several thousand pounds of steel around in 3 dimensions instead?

I don't want them driving on the roads either, but we've got that now. We need autonomous cars absolutely as soon as possible. Once we get that, then yes, I'd like to have autonomous cars that fly as well.

Self-driving cars will save many, many lives. How nice will it be to get as drunk as you want, then climb in your car and tell it to take you home? Once we get to that point adding the extra dimension is just fine with me.

Vehicles where you just sit back and enjoy the ride? That's crazy talk, future boy.

mongbiohazard:Self-driving cars will save many, many lives. How nice will it be to get as drunk as you want, then climb in your car and tell it to take you home? Once we get to that point adding the extra dimension is just fine with me.

If you're talking about the US, they're already legal and being sold in Nevada, and they've been authorized in California for use by 2015 (when the DMV finishes drafting the regs). IIRC outside the US a couple nations have authorized their use as well, I wanna say Austria but I'm not sure.

It's a fairly current technology, with plenty of working models, most companies have been working the kinks out since 2005 or so. If you have a car with laneassist, or adaptive cruise control, or parallel park assist, you've essentially been part of the beta. The projections of the relevant British and US engineering colloquia put the wide availability of fully autonomous consumer products at probably 2015, give or take a couple years. This is why states have started drafting regulations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_car

//You're welcome.//Drones crash on a regular basis, so the tech isn't there for consumer airplanes/helicopters.//Yeah, I know it's a bit weird that people have been taking this seriously, but it works.

Ed Grubermann: I can really feel the Nutter love through my monitor... But let me tell you a little secret... Space is utterly empty, so really, I couldn't get HIV there./Actually I used phone sex last night and got hearing AIDS!//HAHAHHAAAHAA!!!

Jim_Callahan:It's a fairly current technology, with plenty of working models, most companies have been working the kinks out since 2005 or so. If you have a car with laneassist, or adaptive cruise control, or parallel park assist, you've essentially been part of the beta. The projections of the relevant British and US engineering colloquia put the wide availability of fully autonomous consumer products at probably 2015, give or take a couple years. This is why states have started drafting regulations.

Once they get to market I can't even begin to imagine the FWD: FWD: FWD: FWD: FWD: SOCIALISM GONNA BAN YER CAR! emails that are going to float around.

Quantum Apostrophe:Ed Grubermann: I can really feel the Nutter love through my monitor... But let me tell you a little secret... Space is utterly empty, so really, I couldn't get HIV there./Actually I used phone sex last night and got hearing AIDS!//HAHAHHAAAHAA!!!

Dementia. A common symptom of advances space AIDS. Looks like he isn't going to live long enough to reap the benefits of the spice Melange. Ironic, really.

LazarusLong42:USCLaw2010: How do you divy up the land on a new planet? We just going to homestead that biatch? Or have Monsanto and the Koch brothers already acquired all of the futures in alien real estate?